let's rank soccer prospects!!

Beasly's been very good for PSV thus far, he's been playin left wing mostly and has scored and created quite a lot of goals this season.

I've been a fan of his ever since the WC's in Japan and Korea because of his pace and dribbling. I'm still not convinced he's got what it takes to succeed at a real top club but he's been good at PSV so that's a good start

I would rate Jefferson Farfan over Beasley though :)

actually it took only slightly more than an hour it seems.. :)
i don't have time to read the whole thing now, but i see that there are some significative movements in the rankings and moreover that it looks like great stuff! :handclap:
one thing: i guess Kalambay and M'buy are not in England by more than three years (don't know if Kalambay is under 18 though), nor they have played more than 20 games in EPL, thus they would be elegible for your ranking.. so, going out on a limb (since i guess you can't know them much) and trusting your sense, where would you place them in your ranking?

Yeah, it was fun writing all that stuff so I completed it in one session :)

I just added two more guys whom I'd forgotten (at the bottom of my 'other notables' list) and tried to answer your question without answering it.

BTW, BF, Pieroni is heating up. Roux said he was a bit too fat this summer, and he will bring him slowly.
He scored a key goal yesterday in a League's Cup game.

BTW, BF, Pieroni is heating up. Roux said he was a bit too fat this summer, and he will bring him slowly.
He scored a key goal yesterday in a League's Cup game.


I can agree with that first remark, if you look at the pictures now and compare them with last year it's already a big difference, I'd say 5 kilos at least (wich is a lot for a professional athlete obviously).

Personally I think Pieroni has what it takes to succeed in France. I don't think he's got the talent for a 'real' top flight team in one of the big three leagues, but once he adapts he should be a solid striker in France, wich should be useful for our red devils.

Disturbing news out of last Thursday day of serieA.

Bologna two youngsters Cipriani and Meghni suffered back to back injuries around the 20' mark in the game against Brescia. :dunno:

Cipriani got a muscle haematoma that should sideline him for at least a couple of weeks.
Worse news for Meghni, who suffered one more meniscus damage that will require another surgery, taking him out for at least one month.

Worse news for Meghni, who suffered one more meniscus damage that will require another surgery, taking him out for at least one month.
:cry:

BTW, I've updated my list.

Keseru (18, Nantes) started his first Ligue 1 game tonight. At half time, he has one goal.

Today's Belgian TV match was La Louvière - Mons, I finally had a chance to see Pinelli (my wild card) for 90 minutes and I was pleased to see the snippets I saw before the winter break from his debut match (this was his second match in the league) proved to be largely correct.

He's very small, not extremely quick, but quick enough on the first few steps. His most potent weapon is his brilliant crossing in his left foot. Seriously, in his second match he was already taking all the set pieces and deliverd four pin point crosses, resulting in two headed chances going wide, one on the bar and the other one well saved by Laquait.
Pinelli was awarded the man of the Match trophy by Canal + even though that was as much a result of the overall bad quality of the match than of Pinelli's brilliance.

Still if he continues this play he'll be rising up the charts pretty quickly!

Oh and a quick update from Brian Bergougnoux, Lyon's future star striker.
He got his first career start earlier this week in Sochaux on his 22nd birthday.
He scored the openning goal in the first 10 minutes.
Tonight he was throw into the fire late in the game and added another goal.
Lyon has sick talent really, especially on offense : Bergougnoux, Ben Arfa, Malouda, Wiltord, Frau, Nilmar, Elber, Govou, Juninho, Idangar...

I've just seen Bergougnoux's goal and it was a sick shot.

I also saw Keseru's goal (lob) and that he also had a marvelous 25 meters shot on the crossbar.

Le Tallec might be loaned to Norwich or West Bromwich .

Le Tallec might be loaned to Norwich or West Bromwich .

Yeah heard that too.
It's a shame he fell into that unfortunate situation at St Étienne.

Looking back he probably should've stayed two years au Havre in stead of joining up with Liverpool last season, same with Pongolle probably. If both had an extra season under their belts I think they would've been more ready for this season and they would've had ample playing time.

Let's just hope the talent is not wasted!

Absolutely.
They should have stayed in Le Havre for two years at least and actually play some Ligue 1 games (Le Havre is in Ligue 2).
It was useless to bring them to Liverpool if they weren't to play.
Bad career move for the cousins, and bad move for Liverpool.

lets rank soccer prospects!!

Anderlecht signed Gérard Lifondja to a contract today. At 15 years he is considered one of the brightest prospects at Anderlecht, his main position is central midfielder.
Lifondja choose to stay at Anderlecht despite interest from Arsenal (****** Wenger up to his usualy tricks :madfire: ) and Leeds United
He'll probably get some playing time with the reserves this season.

I won't rank him before he becomes a member of the A-team (and I can get to know a bit more about him) but it's positive news nonetheless.


*Edit* did some research and the RSCA website says he's a striker, not a midfielder. Either way, he has signed a part time contract until june 2007. He's a member of the U-17 squad but has made Reserve appearances already.

Lifondja choose to stay at Anderlecht despite interest from Arsenal (****** Wenger up to his usualy tricks :madfire: )
I'm really starting to dislike Wenger for these antics, and I also think that it's not beneficial for most of these players (save Cesc, who was lucky to get the chance at the beginning of the season). Two of our brightest Swiss prospects (Djourou and Senderos) are also there, and instead of getting regular playing time at a smaller club they hardly ever play. I really don't think that this helps their development, Lifondja made the right decision IMO.

']lets rank soccer prospects!!
http://www.hfboards.com/showthread.php?p=1610574#post1610574
:yo:

(from soccer draft discussion thread)
Kompany, meanwhile, is the most talented young defender in the world. He has every single tool you need to become an all time great (not saying he will) and thus has an even higher ceiling than Fabregas.Agree.
As for possessing all the tools, a couple of things:
-he obviously needs someone on his side that can command the defensive line and can teach him how to do it in the future (something that seems to miss on Anderlecht squad). Of course that's just natural at such a young age and hopefully will/should be easily fixed in the future.
-one thing that he seems to lack for the times i've seen him is smelling the danger, which is a quality good defenders must have (one thing Lecce's sucking Diamoutene completely lacks for example).

(from soccer draft discussion thread)

As for possessing all the tools, a couple of things:
-he obviously needs someone on his side that can command the defensive line and can teach him how to do it in the future (something that seems to miss on Anderlecht squad). Of course that's just natural at such a young age and hopefully will/should be easily fixed in the future.

He's got Hannu Tihinen back on his side in the second half of the season, he was Anderlecht's most steady defender last season and when he went down with injury Anderlecht was left with a defense wich lacked experience.
At one time the starting lineup was:
Deschacht (23) - Kompany (18) - Traoré (21) - Vanden Borre (17)
Vanden Borre really went through a bad period at that time so Broos brought Zewlakov (32 something, Polish in ternational) to the squad but he's not a leader.
So actually Kompany had to do a lot of the organising, and considering the inexperience of the defense they did quite well.

But this will now be history once more, with Tihinen in the back four the team is much more steady and it also allowes Vincent to go forward from time to time (he absolutely ridiculed two Mouscron defenders with his skills this week end when he had joined the attack).

But he still needs to loose his lack of concentration at times, but at age 18 it's hardly something wich can't be done.

Personally he's very mature though, he handles the press wonderfully well.
For example: he was nominated for the Sports Personality of the year trophy and was on TV in the live broadcast sunday evening. Monday morning he was two hours late for training without a good reason apparently and the player had already left to the training ground (they meet at the stadium and drive with little busses to the training ground). That meant he had to join the prospects on training who leave two hours later from the stadium. When the press saw him siiting in that bus they went up to him and al he had to say was: "I'm very sorry for causing you people extra work"
:handclap:

Of course coming to late for practise (happened twice this season in total) is something wich he'll have to ban from his character. He knows that though and calls himself nonchalant at this point as opposed to unprofessional wich I think is correct.


-one thing that he seems to lack for the times i've seen him is smelling the danger, which is a quality good defenders must have (one thing Lecce's sucking Diamoutene completely lacks for example).

Not sure what you mean here but it's definately a fact that he's far from the finished product as a defender. He's already very good but with his skills, body, obvious footballing instincts and natural flair he should be dominating. At the moment he's dominating Belgian games for 85 minutes/game but there's still this one or two positional errors or mental lapses each game.
But as I've said before he can get away with that here but that will have to change.

Nonetheless he's the overwhelming and actually only favorite to win the "golden boot" (best player in Belgium voted by the press) award next week and rightfully so, he's already too good for our league.

Not sure what you mean here but it's definately a fact that he's far from the finished product as a defender.With 'smelling the danger' i mean for example always realizing when you can go for hard tackles (moreover in penalty area) and when you can not, or always realizing when/where you can NOT lose the ball.
But thanks for your info! :handclap:
(btw, didn't see any reply to my last Inter-Kompany-news question! Did I miss it?)

(btw, didn't see any reply to my last Inter-Kompany-news question! Did I miss it?)

Ah you didn't miss it, there's just no news, but I assume that that rumoured option still counts, otherwise it wouldn't be very useful.

From the mercato thread :
Chelsea is following ManU and Arsenal's footsteps and are tring to buy every good U18 player.
After Yahiaoui, they're trying to sign Samir Nasri, OM's diamond.

They already did that to Anderlecht when they took Yves Ma Kalambay.

Those English club :shakehead
At least Liverpool had the decency to pay a decent amount of money to Le Havre for Flo and Le Tallec

Landon Donovan is now playing in the Bundesliga, he's a 1982 too.

I expect him to shine.

Landon Donovan is now playing in the Bundesliga, he's a 1982 too.

I expect him to shine.For which team?

Here comes a quick update on the top 10 guys of my list.
Note that this is not a re-ranking! The new top 10, or top something else (depending on how many players from the Italian leagues I will insert) will be easily gained analyzing the overall prospects ranking that will be posted as soon as possible after the missing key lists will appear:
Galiza Rules is completing a Spanish list!
Alexander the Great should do the Portuguese one.
popperBOLT SHOULD add a quick Austrian list as well as a British one.



Kaka- some months into a struggling season for the media...while curiously my opinion on him has not changed by an inch.

Adriano- outstanding season so far, which means he is doing exactly what i expected him to do when i wrote the rankings. The only surprising thing is that this year he is playing for the most as second forward. Even if he is proving that he can be dangerous starting from long distance too, i still prefer him to operate closer to the opposite net and especially not to flirt with the sidelines...this way he is wasting too much energy too far away , around the midfield.
Suffered a muscular injury in his calf on 18th of January and should be sidelined for approximately three weeks.

Antonio Cassano- After a head-wise encouraging Euro 2004, his behaviour went soon back to the worst brainless' standards..and the fat surrounding his body at 22 is alarming…he probably needs a different environment around him than the one provided by Roma to not ruin all his talent. Then again, some time ago he singlehandly destroyed Siena's defense creating all his team's 4 goals, the next two games (one missing, the other playing through injury)Roma needed a penalty to score a goal…first game back healthy and Roma scores five (two by him)..

Alberto Gilardino- It's more difficult to score goals every game when your team sucks...he just needs a little more patience before joining Milan.

Obafemi Martins- nothing new here..

Daniele De Rossi- Mister Clutch started out in great fashion with the senior national team, but he is suffering a bit his team's troubles.

Riccardo Montolivo- Atalanta is dead last (so far) and many say he is disappointing. Know what? Who cares of that and of the fact his team can't score, i've seen from him some things i needed to see and i am more confortable than before with him placed in the top10 . The problem is that he could be great in the future as a pure midfielder (think about the position where Seedorf plays for Milan, that could be in the future the best position for him), while not a true star as an attacking midfielder with people expecting him to score a lot and decide games..he lacks that burst of speed and the strength/bravery to take physical abuse to be truly great at that role.

Valeri Bojinov- That he would have benefited from Zeman system was predictable, that he suddenly would have become a great shooter definitely not! That gives a new dimension to this player!
Still very inconsistent, but overall an outstanding first part of the season.

Gianpaolo Pazzini- just back and just out again because of inuries (meniscus troubles), before he showed all many good things i like.

Luis Jimenez- several injuries, frustration to not be traded to any serieA team (could be the case soon), so many team problems that in four months were changed more coaches than you would think in five years, Copa America fatigue.. all that leads to a disappointing season so far, despite a couple of beautiful goals. Sending good signals in the last couple of games.



Overall, speaking of my top 10 six months later, i am satisfied with what i wrote and i have to say at the moment i think an hypothetical Italian top 20 is more solid than what i expected back then. In the last months, several players that were much more about potential than about proven value has enjoyed performances that have backed up hopes and (would have)improved their ranking.
I am thinking of:

#12- Mourad Meghni
A showtime performance against Roma early in the season.

#22 Christian Obodo
In the new, more demanding reality, he was showing more consistency, maturity well beyond his age and a capability of understanding the game and keeping things under control that is unknown to most of veteran midfielders. In the game against Inter he put on a 90minutes long 'ball protection clinic' that drove the entire opponent midfielder corp to nervous breakdown.Unfortunately in the last period he is struggling, showing again past flaws.

#19- Giorgio Chiellini
After looking out of place with Juventus early on, he established himself as a regular starter with Fiorentina showing his energy deserves to put him in the top 20.

#15- Sulley Muntari
Hopefully it's not just a case that this year i have yet to notice him making glaring mistakes in dangerous positions..now a regular starter for third place Udinese, forced Pinzi to shift on the right side.

#18- Alberto Aquilani
Able to stay in Roma, showed soon to belong and despite his team's awful season he is showing to me that he already is a player, and a good one for sure in the future!

#21- Mirko Vucinic
His knee looks finally ok, he is back scoring(a lot) and without any fears. The pace and dribblings should come back as well.



Other lower placed players have improved their rankings:

#78- Goran Pandev ok, he is a master of inconsistency even in the same game, playing great one half and sucking the next (should improve his endurance btw), going from great plays (see the goal he scored against Juve) to glaring mistakes, but control in tight situations and his left foot definitely deserve a much better position than the one i assigned to him back in the Summer.

#51- Andrea Lazzari Of course I can’t forget to mention this guy after what he has recently done in the couple of Italian Cup games against Juve. Atalanta won at home 2-0 with both goals scored by Lazzari. In Torino Atalanta tied at 3-3 thanks to three more goals by him! :eek: :yo:
After his 5 goals in two games performance, Lazzari now is easily the leading goal scorer of the Italian Cup with nine tallies :amazed:

#35- Ruben Oliveira It's impressive how much things have changed in six months for this guy. Even if i went out on a limb ranking him at #35 when almost everyone in Italy thought of him as a complete bust, today that ranking appears already too old.

Unranked Manuel Pasqual (13-03-82) An offensive leftback with Arezzo, serieB, this guy (100% Italian despite the name) should reach serieA no later than next season. I still don’t know him enough, but of course he has been one of the brightest surprises of this serieB season, providing his team with a consistent threat (for crosses) from the left side.

Only mentioned Massimo Bonanni (10-06-82) This year he is showing with much more consistency what his left foot can do, appearing in the serieB(Vicenza) highlights day in and day out, moreover because of his amazing shot. There have been rumors of interest by Italian top teams going on recently.



And now Mexes, the rebus.
Highly touted, enjoyed a promising pre-season just to be even embarrassing in his first games in serieA. After a period on the bench he is finding more space under DelNeri, but even playing regularly has not been enough to bring him to the level that should be obvious for his skills. He is still sucking, a simply awful first half of the season. Of course Roma this year was not the ideal team where to start out. One good thing that he is showing is that he is a very good passer for a defenseman.
His main problems so far:
He is playing on an offensive team that lacks a true (good) leader to command the defensive line.
His attitude/brain are not looking good enough yet for a central defender; his attention seems to simply not be always there.
Aside from his current struggles, i think he is clearly potentially the best defender in Roma, so it’s understandable DelNeri is going on using him.
The big question is: will his brain/attitude/attention be good enough in the future to reach his potential? Not guaranteed at all it seems.



Speaking of prospects, some words about two unelegible guys.
Already described (see http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=1821708&postcount=42) '81 born Giacomo Cipriani was doing very well lately before the muscular injury suffered a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully he will be back soon, playing for the first time one almost full season and show the true value that so far was only possible to smell..

Andrea Caracciolo is born on 18/9/81 and he is so thin and lanky that the first time you will see him you will probably think he is just lucky enough to not breaking and falling while running. Actually the guy has some strength and stamina, has a decent technique (for his stature), is a good shooter and can score. I guess he will never be a star, but is a pretty complete forward who should get in the future some space on the national team.

For which team?


Bayer Leverkusen. I also expect Landon to do well. Hes arguably the most talented american player ever.

Méxès has lots of brains.
I think the whole complicated Auxerre-Roma transfer (which wasn't a transfer according to Guy Roux) got in his head this season. He should take many by storm next season.

Méxès has lots of brains.
I think the whole complicated Auxerre-Roma transfer (which wasn't a transfer according to Guy Roux) got in his head this season. He should take many by storm next season.I don't see Roma often, but each time I saw him he made huge blunders.

I don't see Roma often, but each time I saw him he made huge blunders.
Agreed. Mexes is not a reliable defender. And to helicopter: I can`t believe you put Kaka in front of Adriano in the rankings...

Oh come on. I've seen Mexes for four years, he's more than reliable!
He's a super defenseman.
But it's quite obvious that his fight with Guy Roux is bothering him and his season.
For those who don't know what I mean, Guy Roux and Auxerre are suing him and Roma since they feel the player shouldn't have signed with Roma without getting a compensation. Mexes said he had the promise of Guy Roux.
The matter is still not resolved.
But it's obvious Mexes will rebound. It's not like he's a prospect than needs development. He was already the top defenseman playing in France.

Was only a matter of time...
After Yahiaoui and Nasri, Chelsea desperately wants to buy Lyon sensation Atem Ben Arfa.
Add Menez to the mix (Arsenal and Juve want him already) and you have the Magic 4 of U18 french stars.

And to helicopter: I can`t believe you put Kaka in front of Adriano in the rankings...Hey Stranger, it took 6 months for you to realize i put Kaka ahead of Adriano?! :lol:
Btw, today i would put Kaka ahead again, even if by a smaller margin (note to prevent homeristic accuses: i selected Kaka because i am this high on him and not the contrary: i am not so high on him because i selected him! :D )

Wow, wow, wow!
I didn't see the game (will see the highlights in the next hour), but Jérémy Menez, 17 years old, scored 3 goals in 12 minutes yesterday for Sochaux. His team won 4-0 and he had a 9 rating in L'Equipe, the highest I remember any player getting, tied with Ronaldinho in a 3-0 win at OM. He couldn't get another goal though as he was subed the minute after his third goal. Shame...

Wow, wow, wow!
I didn't see the game (will see the highlights in the next hour), but Jérémy Menez, 17 years old, scored 3 goals in 12 minutes yesterday for Sochaux. :eek: :eek:

:amazed:

I've just seen the goals. All coming from his great speed. One in the left side of the net, one in the right side of the net, and one lob over the goalie.
He has some amazing technical abilities and unreal awareness. In the first half, he made a lobbed blind pass that almost turned into a goal.
And the goalie he scored on (Ramé) was on Cloud 9 all game. He stopped about ten good chances before Menez turned in his great performance.

Hey BF, what can you say about Grégory Christ (Charleroi)?
I heard he had very good dribbling ability and had a very good future.
What do you think?

Lukas Podolski, still 19, scored 4 goals in Cologne's 5:3 win over Cottbus in the 2. Bundesliga today and is leading the league in goals now. :handclap:

They will definitly get promoted and next season he can prove in the Bundesliga if he really is "our saviour" like we all hope so much.

And Sébastien Grax added 2 Ligue 2 goals with Troyes to push his season's total to 12 goals. His first goal was a spectacular bicycle kick.
Remember this guy is on loan from Monaco.

And Sébastien Grax added 2 Ligue 2 goals with Troyes to push his season's total to 12 goals. His first goal was a spectacular bicycle kick.
Remember this guy is on loan from Monaco.



Where is that quote from, Evilo?

Lukas Podolski, still 19, scored 4 goals in Cologne's 5:3 win over Cottbus in the 2. Bundesliga today and is leading the league in goals now. :handclap:

They will definitly get promoted and next season he can prove in the Bundesliga if he really is "our saviour" like we all hope so much.Wow, that must hurt TomACE who's a Cottbus fan... You should just hope that Poldi will not be affected by the German hype machine and the pressure, you can't need another "Fall Deisler" (of course I know that not everybody is mentally as fragile as Deisler, but still).

Btw., did you notice that I took your favorite player in the soccer draft? :)

Where is that quote from, Evilo?
Sorry I don't understand what you mean...:dunno:
It wasn't a quote:dunno:

Wow, that must hurt TomACE who's a Cottbus fan... You should just hope that Poldi will not be affected by the German hype machine and the pressure, you can't need another "Fall Deisler" (of course I know that not everybody is mentally as fragile as Deisler, but still).

Btw., did you notice that I took your favorite player in the soccer draft? :)

Thank God he seems very tough mentally, he has to obviously.
I too expect so much of him even though I know that that's not a good thing, but I can't help it. :dunno:
Poor kid!

Selecting Mertesacker was a very very wise choice!
You know your stuff! :handclap:

Sorry I don't understand what you mean...:dunno:
It wasn't a quote:dunno:


The quote in your signature I mean.

Oh, Blade Runner.

Hey BF, what can you say about Grégory Christ (Charleroi)?
I heard he had very good dribbling ability and had a very good future.
What do you think?

He's been very good as of late, I saw two complete Charleroi matches this week and while he didn't stand out (Charleroi is really a team-succes story, not a bunch of individuals) he did impress me. Your description is pretty accurate, dribbling is very good indeed and he has a good eye for the game as well, knows when to make the cross or when to cut inside and try something from there.

There's a few young french kids playing well in Charleroi and La Louvière at the moment, Mons also added a few. These teams actively scout the lower leagues (they go as low as D3) and give the kids a chance to shine in Belgium, and it's paying dividends for them right now, good positions in the league for the first two and Mons will probably pull a Houdini and save it's first division status.



BTW just saw Menez' goals, wow, great finishing for a kid of 17 years of age, looked like one hell of a natural finisher to me!

BTW just saw Menez' goals, wow, great finishing for a kid of 17 years of age, looked like one hell of a natural finisher to me!
Yep, very cool under pressure. That third goal was magnificent.

Well the duel of the youngsters was yesterday evening. Sochaux and Menez beat OM and Nasri 2-0. Menez didn't score and Nasri injured himself pretty badly. No word on the exact nature of the injury, but it's probably serious.

Well the duel of the youngsters was yesterday evening. Sochaux and Menez beat OM and Nasri 2-0. Menez didn't score and Nasri injured himself pretty badly. No word on the exact nature of the injury, but it's probably serious. :dunno: :dunno:

Sorry Helice, no news yet. I'll let you guys know when I have some info.

Bergougnoux has scored again in the first half against Rennes. Isaksson should have stopped it though. Govou had the other goal. At the half, Lyon 2-0 Rennes.

BTW, Jimmy Briand is starting for the first time for Rennes.
And Bergougnoux is playing great, being the key in both goals, and being a constant threat.
Essien is showing his all around game again by playing central defenseman.

And Bergougnoux is playing great, being the key in both goals, and being a constant threat.


Liked his movement and ball control when he came one as a sub vs Lille, didn't show much else though due to a lack of service.

Bergougnoux was subed in the second half under a standing ovation from the Lyon fans.
He was subed by another great prospect, Karim Benzema. I heard a lot of praise about him, but only saw a couple of highlights (one being a very nice assist to Bergougnoux the other day). That's why I haven't ranked him yet. Well tonight he scored a goal, but it was called back on some phantom offside call.

And Briand had an assist tonight on Rennes' only goal. Nice first start.

Sorry Helice, no news yet. I'll let you guys know when I have some info.
Just heard that Nasri has nothing broken in his leg. That's for the good news.
The bad news is that he will be tested in the next few days, but he's sure to miss at least a month.

Bergougnoux was subed in the second half under a standing ovation from the Lyon fans.
He was subed by another great prospect, Karim Benzema. I heard a lot of praise about him, but only saw a couple of highlights (one being a very nice assist to Bergougnoux the other day). That's why I haven't ranked him yet. Well tonight he scored a goal, but it was called back on some phantom offside call.

And Briand had an assist tonight on Rennes' only goal. Nice first start.How is it that this Benzema is playing more than Ben Arfa? Hatem still injured?

Just heard that Nasri has nothing broken in his leg. That's for the good news.
The bad news is that he will be tested in the next few days, but he's sure to miss at least a month.Still fears of ligaments problems? (in his knees or ankles?)

Yep, Ben Arfa is still out, for an extended period unfortunately.
We can see among the kids that even if their talent is there, the body might not be as competitive. Ben Arfa and Nasri are out for a while, etc...

Some very good news : Nasri will only miss 10 days. All tests proved he had just a big bruise, but nothing was broken or torn in his leg.

The Podolski Show goes on.
2 goals again today.

Tomorrow Sören Halfar is expected to make his Bundesliga Debut in the 4-man backline for Hannover 96.
He turned 18 just 20 days ago.

I'm really curious to see how he will do.

Also Marc-André Kruska, still 17, will start for Dortmund.

Some very good news : Nasri will only miss 10 days. All tests proved he had just a big bruise, but nothing was broken or torn in his leg.Nice to hear these news! :)

Yep, Ben Arfa is still out, for an extended period unfortunately. :dunno: What's the problem?

There's currently a small injurie crisis at Bruges (Balaban, now Blondel and Victor sucks anyway) wich has caused a new exciting little player to emerge: Jeanvion Yulu - Matondo.

He's been scoring goals all season for the youth teams and the reserves and he impressed Sollied so much during the winter break's Spanish training camp that he's now moved to the main squad. He's moved over Dieter van Tornhour in the picking order and is a 1986 born (05-01-1986 - same age as Kompany). Very quick, good dribbler and plays/moves like a real striker. Two good sub appearances already, he looks like a real talent

There's currently a lot of good players blocking his path though so let us hope that he won't be another wasted Bruges talent.

Big news for Ribery and Ogbeche :
http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=2430415&postcount=378

For Ben Arfa's injury, I don't know exactly, and these days I don't have much time to make a search. I'll let you kow when I hear something, but I think I remember it's something about his ankle. Not sure at all though.

For Ben Arfa's injury, I don't know exactly, and these days I don't have much time to make a search. I'll let you kow when I hear something, but I think I remember it's something about his ankle. Not sure at all though.Ok. ;)

In Italy market has involved for the most prospects, and the ones on the move, especially on loan, have been so many that it has been difficult to keep track.
But one hour before the deadline, it came also a shocking (unexpected) deal to complete the turnaround:
#8 Valeri Bojinov was suddenly bought by Fiorentina for 13 milions plus half of ‘81 born Chilean attacking midfielder Jaime Valdes (the only half of Fiorentina, the other one is still Bari’s property). He has good dribbling skills but i don’t see him enjoying success at top level, it’s a bit surprising for me to see him joining Lecce cause i see him as a bit too much of a ball carrier for Zeman’s game and because Pantaleo Corvino (Lecce talents scouts director) has shown very good nose in the past. Anyway i don’t think Valdes should change much the overall value of the deal.
Fiorentina’s owner revealed that he was very pleased to have been able to grab such a talent out of Chelsea mighty hands, praising Bojinov desire to join them instead of following the path and money offered by Abramovic. The Bulgarian signed until 2009 and it has been confirmed that he was offered to go on loan for 5 months to CSKA Moscow before joining Chelseas for next season.


Fiorentina was hands down the main character of this market, as the second biggest deal was again completed by them the day before. That one was rumored by a month, with Palermo as runner up and despite reported Juventus’ interest along last couple of seasons, #9 Gianpaolo Pazzini indeed signed a long term contract with the ‘Viola’. Atalanta received 6 milions (at first Uruguayan Gianni Guigou was supposed to be a further addition but refused to go to Atalanta, so probably Viola had to add something to not have problems completing the deal).

I don’t even remember the last time a bluechip prospect playing in Italy was not signed by one of the four big teams. Well, Fiorentina signed two in two days during the season spendine at least 20M! :amazed:
That should give them three reliable threats up front for future years, considering Miccoli is still pretty young (26/7/79. The guy doesn’t look particularly interested in going back to Juve that i think still keeps half of his property but that has recently signed Mutu to a five years contract).
On a side note, they acquired also #37 Marco Donadel. This deal was curiously as hyped as Pazzini’s one by the media but not deservely imo. First of all, it’s just a loan and more importantly Donadel is overrated and i don’t think he will be able to replace Maresca or Obodo on the starting lineup as both are clearly better than him imo.

And to complete the picture, there are rumors that in the Pazzini deal was involved an option on talented midfielder #7 Riccardo Montolivo.


Other notorius name were involved in loans:
Swiss talent Vonlanthen joins Brescia, a surprising move that could be good for both player and team considering Brescia lacks of quality strikers (even if they just signed Marco Del Vecchio too)
Mido goes to Tottenham Hotspur.


And now the complete (not sure) list of the others (when not specified otherwise they are loans):
#ranking-name-previous team-destination. H=half property / S=sold

16- Ianis Zicu -Parma-> Dinamo Bucarest
24- Luigi Della Rocca-Pisa-> Bologna
26- Gaetano D’Agostino-Roma-> Messina
27- Nicola Pozzi-Milan->Pescara(B)
32- Inacio Pia´-Atalanta->Napoli(C) S
34- Giovanni Pasquale-Inter->Siena
37- Marco Donadel-Samp->Milan->Fiorentina
39- S.Ayodele Makinwa-Genoa->Atalanta H
46- Emanuele Calaio´-Pescara->Napoli(C) S
48- Alessandro Rosina-Parma->Verona(B)
49- Alessandro Potenza-Parma->Chiedo

That means 13 prospects among those ranked from #8 to #50 has changed their jersey in January (16 overall after the start of the season).

Others:
71- Antonio Floro Flores-free->Perugia(B)
76- Graziano Pellé -Lecce->Catania(B)
79- Daniel Degano-Parma->Piacenza(B) H

The other team making noise was Napoli, despite being in serie C. They acquired prospects Calaiò, Pià, (after previous loan of #14 Ignazio Abate ), both could play in serie A, and other players of upper category.

A couple of things to add:
A lot of buzz going on here about Raffaele De Martino (unranked).
The guy is an 18yrs old (4/8/86) tough defensive midfielder that had already started out with Roma main team in serie A (on 7/11/04 in San Siro). During the Viareggio youth tournament* the guy disappeared without leaving any tracks from the hotel of his team, rumors were he was going to England. He recently refused Roma's offer for a professional contract. Yesterday emerged through his agent that the guy has signed a five year contract for LNB Bellinzona. And now the question is: which team relies behind the operation? The most probable thing is that one of the other Italian big teams managed the whole operation. Former Roma's coach Capello is now with Juve, that could be an indication..but that Juventus could be involved is at the moment pure free speculation.
As for the player, the main reason he was unranked on my list is his poor technique for a midfielder..of course the buzz around him and his early start out with the main team a couple of months ago would suggest i wasn't completely aware about his value..we will see.

*Speaking of Coppa Carnevale (Viareggio youth tournament), it is one of the most important juvenile tournaments for clubs in the world and today the 1/8s will be played. Players must be born on 1985 or later, but every team can have up to three 1984 born guys on their rosters. Here are the matches and my relative forecasts:

Atalanta - Genoa / Atalanta
Juventus - F.K. Zemun / Juve
Inter-Milan / Inter
Torino - Partizan / Torino
Empoli - Newcastle / Empoli
Cittadella - Modena / Cittadella
Werder Bremen - Maccabi Haifa / Werder
Roma - Salernitana / Roma


One player i noticed through the competion has been Luca Conean 24/1/87. Didn't know him, but the guy has technique and amazing dribbling skills in tight spaces. He plays for Venezia at the moment but is Palermo's property since previous Venezia owner Zamparini acquired Palermo 18 months ago. We will see if he will develop some athletical tools too.


One more unranked player has surfaced recently, and once again it was Atalanta to pull out the trick. His name is Marco Motta, is born on 14/5/86 and is a central/right defender. The guy was a starter last Sunday against Juve and despite a struggling game it looks to me like he belongs..

Arsenal have been rumoured to be chasing de Martino as well, when he was absent last week they thought it was with the idea of signing for them, so I wouldn't take them out of the picture.

What league is Bellinzona in BTW?


Shamefull bussines BTW, I really can't understand it how managers manage to get these youngsters not to sign a first pro deal with the club that trained them but opt for another club (preferably Arsenal :shakehead ) straight away.

What league is Bellinzona in BTW?LNB Bellinzona

Shamefull bussines BTW, I really can't understand it how managers manage to get these youngsters not to sign a first pro deal with the club that trained them but opt for another club (preferably Arsenal :shakehead ) straight away.Reportedly De Martino was offered more than double of what Roma was ready to give to him and managers get their money percentage..i guess it is as simple as that..

Three new youngsters participate at the training camp of the Swiss national team in Dubai: Right back Philipp Degen (Basel, soon Dortmund), and midfielders Davide Chiumiento (Siena, Serie A) and Valon Behrami (Hellas Verona, Serie B). Both Chiumiento and Behrami are double citizens (from Italy and Albania respectively) who grew up in Switzerland, and still haven't decided for which national team to play in the future.

Reportedly De Martino was offered more than double of what Roma was ready to give to him and managers get their money percentage..i guess it is as simple as that..Still a shame. The UEFA better get some fair compensation system in place as soon as possible!

I know I said I would do a list.

Believe me, I really tried to do so but it was too difficult.

There are many very young players right now playing in the Bundesliga but I don't think that is really important.

Ballack for example started playing pro when he was 21.

Then there's Podolski who every German soccer fans believes to be our saviour but he playing 2.Bundesliga so you can't really compare his accomplishments to anyone.

Furthermore you can't see whole games live in Germany if you don't pay for it (PREMIERE) and I don't think you should really rate a player based on 5 minutes highlight clips.

The only prospects I've seen play whole matches more than once are Mertesacker, Podolski, Nando Rafael, Schweinsteiger, Valdez,
Lahm, Kuranyi, Schulz and Hinkel.

There have been 2 new rookies who have dressed up for Ajax this year that haven't been a mention in the official Dutch prospect list. One of them has provided such an impact, moving him all the way up from the unknown categorie right into the top 5. Right there with Robben (1), van der Vaart (2), Heitinga (3) and Sneijder (4).

His name is Ryan Babel, and made his debute when he was barely 17 years old. Since Ibrahimovic's departure, this kid came out of nowhere and is now a strong force of Ajax' attack. He has been a substitute in 7 games, never really seeing more than 20 minutes a game, but because of his crazy goal-minute ratio and effectiveness, he's earned himself a regular spot on the team, this includes since the aquisition of Charisteas. Babel has pretty much been the sole reason for Sonck's departure to Germany. On to his goal ratio, in 12 games, off which he was a mere substitute in 7, has scored 7 goals.

However, it weren't all regular season games he's played. Of those 12, he's only played in 6 competition games, scoring 5. He's been 1 for 1 in Cup games and has 1 goal in 2 CL games. For a 17 year old with a lot of pressure on him, that's a pretty darn solid rookie season.

He's been labelled a Patrick Kluivert clone the minute he played his first full 90 minutes. Personally I think he's more of a mix of Kluivert and Henry, style wise that is. I doubt he will ever become world's top striker like Henry is and what IMO Kluivert used to be at one point, but the sky is really the limit for Ryan. He's got all the tools to become a superstar and there's not a better place for him to realise it than Ajax. He's tall, he's strong on his feet, he's got speed, technique and a very accurate hard shot. Most of all, he can play himself out of ackward situations.

The other rookie hasn't recorded a goal yet and probably won't seeing as Babel emerged this suddenly, but his name was Aborah and he was a pretty entertaining player to watch during his stay with Ajax 1. Awesome technique, it surprises me that he remained scoreless through those 5 games. But he was only 17 at the time of his stay though, he will likely make the selection next season.

All in all, Ajax has again discovered 2 more talents this season..

Believe me, I really tried to do so but it was too difficult.



So we and some others might do a list together :)

There's a good striker who's played for Monaco lately and that's been scoring a lot in CFA (4th division, where the pro teams have their B team). He played for the A team in League Cup this week. His name is Guglotti. I'll keep an eye on him.
In some good news for our swedish posters, Alexander Farnerud is finally starting to dominate as well as his talent suggests. Remember he's been in Strasbourg for two years now, and every year you hear how Strasbourg's officials are mad about this guy not dominating the league since he can do some breath taking things in practice (and usually scores two goals a year in Ligue 1, both highlight reels).
Well, he's scored in every game of Strasbourg's run in the League Cup. Strasbourg beat St Etienne earlier this week 1-0 on a goal by Farnerud, and are through to the final mainly because of him.
Kallstrom is coming back from his injury.

So we and some others might do a list together :)

Good idea.


Maybe we should just collect all the players we should consider for the list.


Lukas Podolski (04.06.1985), 1. FC Köln, German
Lukas Sinkiewicz (09.10.1985), 1. FC Köln, German/Polish
Christian Lell (29.08.1984) 1. FC Köln, German
Timo Achenbach ( 03.09.1982), 1. FC Köln, German
Phillipp Lahm (11.11.1983), Bayern Munich (loaned to Stuttgart), German
José Paolo Guerrero Gonzales (01.01.1984), Bayern Munich, Peruvian
Bastian Schweinsteiger (01.08.1984), Bayern Munich, German
Andreas Görlitz (31.01.1982), Bayern Munich, German
Michael Rensing (14.05.1984), Bayern Munich, German
Erdal Kilicaslan (23.08.1984), Bayern Munich, German
Nelson Valdez (28.11.1983), Werder Bremen, Paraguayan
Francis Banecki (17.07.1985), Werder Bremen, German
Christian Schulz (01.04.1983), Werder Bremen, German
Andreas Hinkel (26.03.1982), VfB Stuttgart, German
Christian Tiffert (18.02.1982), VfB Stuttgart, German
Kevin Kuranyi (02.03.1982), VfB Stuttgart, German
Mario Gomez (10.07.1985), VfB Stuttgart, German/Spanish
Mimoun Azouagh (17.11.1982), Schalke 04, German
Christian Pander (28.08.1983), Schalke 04, German
Hamit Altintop, (08.12.1982), Schalke 04, Turkish
Mike Hanke (05.11.1983), Schalke 04, German
Michael Delura (01.07.1985), Schalke 04, German/Polish
Alexander Madlung (11.07.1982), Hertha BSC Berlin, German
Malik Fathi (29.10.1983), Hertha BSC Berlin, German
Nando Rafael (10.01.1984), Hertha BSC Berlin, Angolan
Christian Müller (28.02.1984), Hertha BSC Berlin, German
Ashkan Dejagah (05.07.1986), Hertha BSC Berlin, German
Alexander Ludwig (31.01.1984), Hertha BSC Berlin, German
Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker (23.09.1984), Bayer Leverkusen, German
Landon Donovan (04.03.1982), Bayer Leverkusen, USA
Gonzalo Castro (11.06.1987), Bayer Leverkusen, Spanish
Besart Berisha (29.07.1985), Hamburger SV, Serbia+Montenegro/German?
Piotr Trochowski (22.03.1984), Hamburger SV, German/Polish
Mustafa Kucukovic (05.11.1986), Hamburger SV, Bosnia-Herzegowina/German
Oliver Hampel, (02.03.1985), Hamburger SV, German
Marc André Kruska (29.06.1987), Borussia Dortmund, German
Florian Kringe (18.08.1982), Borussia Dortmund, German
Markus Brzenska (25.05.1984), Borussia Dortmund, German
Sahr Senesie (26.05.1985), Borussia Dortmund, German
David Odonkor (21.02.1984), Borussia Dortmund, German
Per Mertesacker (29.09.1984), Hannover 96, German
Sören Halfar (02.01.1987), Hannover 96, German
Tranquillo Barnetta (22.05.1985), Hannover 96, Swiss
Marcell Jansen (04.11.1985), Borussia M'Gladbach, German
Vaclav Sverkos (01.11.1983), Borussia M'Gladbach, Czech
Halil Altintop, (08.12.1982), Kaiserslautern, Turkish
Robert Vittek (01.04.1982), 1.FC Nürnberg, Slovak
Stefan Kießling (25.01.1984), 1.FC Nürnberg, German
Sascha Riether (23.03.1983),SC Freiburg, German
Marvin Matip (25.09.1985), Vfl Bochum, German
Matthias Langkamp (24.02.1984), Arminia Bielefeld, German
Jan Schlaudraff, (18.07.1983), Alemannia Aachen, German
Alexander Meier (17.01.1983), Eintracht Frankfurt, German
Sebastian Freis (23.04.1985), Karlsruhe, German
Emmanuel Krontiris (11.02.1983), 1860 Munich, German
Matthias Lehmann ( 28.05.1983), 1860 Munich, German
Nico Herzig, (10.12.1983), Wacker Burghausen, German
Simon Rolfes (21.01.1982), Alemannia Aachen, German
Roberto Hilbert (16.10.1984), Greuther Fürth, German
Patrick Helmes (01.03.1984), Sportfreunde Siegen, German

Brian Bergougnoux scored again! He's now taken a bigger role in the rotation (Elber's gone, Ben Arfa is injured, and Wiltord is only coming back).
Essien hit the post.
Kallstrom was sent off.

The Meridian Cup is being played in Turkey at the moment. This is an UEFA-CAF competition, under 17 category:
Friday was the first series of game and France drilled Cameroon 7-0 with three goals from Menez (Sochaux).

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/MeridianCup/fixturesresults/round=2150/match=79788/Report=RP.html

Benzema also scored 2 goals and had an assist.
And keep in mind Nasri and Ben Arfa were eligible but are injured :eek:
And BTW, PSG, it's the U18, not U17.;)

I'll correct that.
Ben Arfa and Thicot are injured, but Nasri has not been released by OM.

BTW, Helicecopter, Ben Arfa is out with a shoulder injury.

Paolo Guerrero scored again for Bayern Munich, 6 goals in 8 games.

Probably the biggest young talent in the Bundesliga right now.

And France leads Sierra Leaone 2-1 as of now.

And BTW, PSG, it's the U18, not U17.;)

I really got a problem with categories!! I also had Evra completly wrong!!

Well, Evra used to be a fixture of the U21 team. He's now playing with the A team.

Good idea.


Maybe we should just collect all the players we should consider for the list.



I´d like to throw in some other names:

Michael Lehmann (1.FC Kaiserslautern)
Patrick Wittich (1.FC Kaiserslautern - finally back from injury)
Florian Fromlowitz (1.FC Kaiserslautern)
Andreas Ibertsberger (SC Freiburg)
Dennis Aogo (SC Freiburg)
Benjamin Auer (Mainz 05)
Benjamin Weigelt (Mainz 05)
Denis Lapaczinski (Hansa Rostock) - not sure on him..looks like overrated
Michael Zepek (TSG Hoffenheim - so much potential, but wasted by Leverkusen...)
Dominik Reinhardt (1.FC Nürnberg)
Andreas Wolf (1.FC Nürnberg)
Pekka Lagerblom (1.FC Nürnberg - on loan from Werder Bremen)

too lazy to go through all teams right now...
will do it on tuesday ;)

In the post about the January market revolution i reported that Luigi Della Rocca was back to Bologna from his loan in serie C. Well, yesterday the guy was thrown on the pitch against Roma because of several missing teammates and he suddenly renewed my hopes that ranking him at #24 despite disappearing in the last couple of years was not a complete stretch. In the first half he outrun ultra-hyped prospect Mexes to lob Roma's keeper but the well directed ball went over the crossbar after bouncing in front of the open net. In the second half he surprised Mexes from behind to score the equalizer! :yo:

Benjamin Auer (Mainz)
Denis Lapaczinski (Hansa Rostock) - not sure on him..looks like overrated
Michael Zepek

These 3 are too old to be eligible for the list.

I alos forgot Markus Husterer (16.06.1983), Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the post about the January market revolution i reported that Luigi Della Rocca was back to Bologna from his loan in serie C. Well, yesterday the guy was thrown on the pitch against Roma because of several missing teammates and he suddenly renewed my hopes that ranking him at #24 despite disappearing in the last couple of years was not a complete stretch. In the first half he outrun ultra-hyped prospect Mexes to lob Roma's keeper but the well directed ball went over the crossbar after bouncing in front of the open net. In the second half he surprised Mexes from behind to score the equalizer! :yo:
Seems Mexes can't do anything right this season...

Trying again:

Speaking of Torino, they got back Carlos Marinelli(14/3/82) the other day! This Argentinian attacking midfielder already played there some months two seasons ago in serieA when they were relegated and he literally amazed me in some games showing unusual skills, especially before/around the opposite penalty area limit.
He was property of Middlesbrough and he was back with them after Torino was relegated, anyone could cover on his previous seasons in England? Then he went to Argentina playing without too much success for Boca and another club. If he is in good physical shape (but i question that, cause otherwise it would be difficult to realize why he has been struggling to enjoy any kind of success) he should be a significant boost for Torino chances in serieB.
Again, i would be interested with more opinions on him!

Seems Mexes can't do anything right this season...

Mexes is really having an horrendous season. The Roma defense is too young and too inexperienced, it is difficult for the young lads to improve without a bunch of experienced defenders near by. They make mistakes one after the other which make that the team performances are so inconsistent despite massive firepower up front.

Damn, just found out that the Belgian U-19's will be playing England's U-19's later today in Waregem. I'd love to go but the match is scheduled at 19.00 and there's no way I can get to Waregem by that time as I've got classes until 18.00.
Otherwse I could've given a good scout report about both teams but right now I'll be stuck with what coverage I'll get in the paper tomorrow (if any coverage at all :()

I'll have a look at the upcoming schedule, perhaps they play again when I can actually go and see them.

France and Sweden couldn't provide a winner, as both teams scored only one goal.
Jimmy Briand, Rennes' brilliant striker openned the scoring, and Adreas Dahl scored the equalizer.
Bergougnoux was starting but was only average to my liking.
This team has some excellent players, but is suffering from the comparison to the U18 team (Ben Arfa, Menez, Narsi and co). Of course, Le Tallec and Sinama were out of it, so that hurt the lineup. But with Briand and Bergougnoux, this team does have some firepower.
Some are already talking about selecting the three U18 superstars for the U21 (where they would probably dominate as well). The reasonning is that they are already proven pros (well Ben Arfa has been injured, but the other two have been keys to their team) while only Bergougnoux and Faty are starters for their team (though Berthod, Clichy, and Briand have seen minutes once in a while).

Oh and BTW, the U18 french team won again in the Meridian Cup, this time against Nigeria, with goals from Menez (his fourth) and Benzema (his third). Menez and Benzema didn't play in the second game against Sierra Leone so these total goals were actually made in two games.
After three games, France has 3 wins, 11 goals for and 1 goal against.

I didn't even notice untill last night when I checked through the Dutch selection under 20, but Quincy Owusu Abeyie (16 or 17), probably the greatest Dutch talent at the moment, is Arsenal property now. I'm not sure when the Gunner stole him, but this kid was supposed to bring Ajax to new heights.

Let freaking Wenger develop his own talent for crying out loud! This is the 2nd Dutch talent he stole away within 6 months.

..through the Dutch selection under 20, but Quincy Owusu Abeyie (16 or 17), probably the greatest Dutch talent at the moment.. :eek:
How is it possible then that this guy is not mentioned in any of the Dutch prospects lists?! :help:

He's been there for a while already, definately from the beginning of this season and I think he could even be there for longer yet. And he's 17 I believe, not 16, I'll check out on my Football Manager copy tomorrow (too late right now)

:eek:
How is it possible then that this guy is not mentioned in any of the Dutch prospects lists?! :help:

Kid got some major talent but at 16 (at the time), hasn't proven anything.

Kid got some major talent but at 16 (at the time), hasn't proven anything.Has he proved anything now? Where would you place him on your ranking today?

btw, great timing for your update about Babel, i was just thinking about asking news about him when i read it, thanks!

Pekka Lagerblom (1.FC Nürnberg - on loan from Werder Bremen)

How's he looking over there in Germany?

Has he proved anything now? Where would you place him on your ranking today?
Well he's the star for the Dutch team under 20, but untill he cracks a club line-up, he's too unproven. Especially since he's Arsenal propery I don't expect him to make any noise just yet. Based on pure upside however, he'd easily be in the top 3.

btw, great timing for your update about Babel, i was just thinking about asking news about him when i read it, thanks!
Too bad he got hurt this past weekend in like the 14th minute.

Well he's the star for the Dutch team under 20, but untill he cracks a club line-up, he's too unproven. Especially since he's Arsenal propery I don't expect him to make any noise just yet. Based on pure upside however, he'd easily be in the top 3.:eek:


Too bad he got hurt this past weekend in like the 14th minute.What's the injury??

Three new youngsters participate at the training camp of the Swiss national team in Dubai: Right back Philipp Degen (Basel, soon Dortmund), and midfielders Davide Chiumiento (Siena, Serie A) and Valon Behrami (Hellas Verona, Serie B). Both Chiumiento and Behrami are double citizens (from Italy and Albania respectively) who grew up in Switzerland, and still haven't decided for which national team to play in the future.I thought he was only Kosovar (sp?) /Albanian! Do you know where he was before this season? I didn't know him before this year and i don't know if that's just because he was not yet in Italy when i made my list..
Reportedly (seen only highlights) Valon Behrami (19/4/85, Genoa's property) has been doing great this season..and he has even drawn interest by Juventus, which is offering good bucks it seems. But the guy is undergoing surgery today in the afternoon to repair a broken meniscus and to verify eventual further damages occurred in the knee twist he suffered in the last serieB game. At the moment 40 days is the expected prognosis.

Btw, did Brescia new acquisition Vonlanthen get the cap?

Speaking of Verona youngsters, midfielder U20 national member Guarente was supposed to take over the place left by just sold (to Genoa) Italiano, but he has been now taken into an hospital trying to heal the high fever he is suffering from for the last seven days. I am quite confident the problem is only this unbelievably strong flu that is around here since i've experienced similar problems for a full week myself.. kinda of consolation i was (barely) able to avoid ospitalization!

Both Chiumiento and Behrami are double citizens (from Italy and Albania respectively) who grew up in Switzerland, and still haven't decided for which national team to play in the future.Apparently some months ago he made his decision for Italy..do you remember?(or am i on drugs?) So it is still doubtful now?

I thought he was only Kosovar (sp?) /Albanian! Do you know where he was before this season? I didn't know him before this year and i don't know if that's just because he was not yet in Italy when i made my list..
Reportedly (seen only highlights) Valon Behrami (19/4/85, Genoa's property) has been doing great this season..and he has even drawn interest by Juventus, which is offering good bucks it seems. But the guy is undergoing surgery today in the afternoon to repair a broken meniscus and to verify eventual further damages occurred in the knee twist he suffered in the last serieB game. At the moment 40 days is the expected prognosis.No, he's not even Albanian yet (as far as I know he's still applying for the passport). He was born in the Kosovo, and then came to Switzerland at a very young age where he got the Swiss passport. And now the question is whether he could even play for Albania under the new FIFA rules or not, because he was not yet Albanian when he first capped for a Swiss youth selection. But he's been approached by the Albanian national team, and is checking all the options now. Don't know whether he would have come if he had not gotten injured. And he was Lugano property before btw.
Btw, did Brescia new acquisition Vonlanthen get the cap?Yes, he did. But that was not too difficult with Streller still injured.

Apparently some months ago he made his decision for Italy..do you remember?(or am i on drugs?) So it is still doubtful now?He has not made any decision yet. He's still waiting.

And he was Lugano property before btw. So did he played for Lugano last season? Did he looked that good? And maybe do yoiu know how much Genoa (or Verona) paid this Summer for his transfer?

Meghni injury update.
I've realized he si not out because of the meniscus anymore..he is now sidelined for a couple more weeks with a groin sprain.

German Lukas Podolski is on fire, 16 goals in 18 games. He's the next big star in German Soccer.

German Lukas Podolski is on fire, 16 goals in 18 games. He's the next big star in German Soccer.Did he score again this weekend?

Did he score again this weekend?

Köln will play tomorrow. I have watched Podolski live about 10 times and he always was impressive but hew needs to play 1. Bundesliga, it's hard to compare his development right now.

18 year-old Aaron Hunt scored a goal for Werder Bremen yesterday in his first start.
Never heard of him before.

Won't be easy for him to play regularly though, because Bremen IMO opinion has the best strikers of the league with Klasnic, Klose, Valdez and now Zidan!

Unbelievable goal today by #19 Chiellini! :eek:

really unpredictable as well, considering he has never been known for his shot..

In the same game, #9 Pazzini started out with Fiorentina in the second half, recording a decisive assist. Fiorentina took the game 2-1..Gilardino ,of course, scored for Parma.

18 year-old Aaron Hunt scored a goal for Werder Bremen yesterday in his first start.
Never heard of him before.


Is he British? Sounds like it with that name..

Is he British? Sounds like it with that name..

No, he's German, born in Goslar.
Don't know about his parents though.

But both names Aaron and Hunt, even though not really common are German too.

Have to edit becaue I just read on another board that his mother is English.

If you guys dont mind Id like to help out with the Portugal prospects........a good site out there for anyone interested is:

www.soccerstats.com

If you guys dont mind Id like to help out with the Portugal prospects........
Then make a ranking for the prospects playing in the Portuguese league! It's missed!
see here:
http://www.hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=89635
and pay attention to the thread starter for the rules ;)

SHOWTIME performance today by Robinho in the big match of the Paulista championship. Santos won 3-0 against Corinthians and it was a one man show, with two goals and an assist the lad dominated. :D

Julien Pinelli is continuing his impressive performances, he was dangerous every time he touched the ball once again this weekend and really he's fabulous on set pieces, brilliant crossing for a guy that age. Already one of the sweetest left foots in Belgian footbal.

Arsenal and Man Utd sent scouting teams to La Louvière as well but it wasn't for Pinelli but obviously for Silvio Proto who's continuing his good form.

The other day, in a national team confrontation between Marocco and another african team (can't remember which), Marocco won 3-0 and Jarouad Zairi scored 2 while assisting on the third goal.

Forgot to give the last result of the meridian Cup.
France 4-1 Egypt
Goals by Menez, Benzema (x2) and Songo'o (the goalie's son).
France won its four games, and Menez and Benzema finish with 5 goals each in three games.

1. FC Köln won 1:0 today in front of over 50.000 fans in the 2. Bundesliga and Podolski scored the goal and is still leading the league with 16 goals in 19 games.

I watched the match today and thought he was pretty average. He deflected a shot by a teammate and that's why he was credited with the goal.

It's really hard to judge him, he has to deal with a quite awful midfield, I think he got 2 good passes today, and almost no crosses.
On the one hand I'd say it's easier to score in the 2. Bundesliga than it would be for him in the 1. BL, on the other hand if he had teammates like Scholl, Ballack or Marcelinho who are actually able to pass the ball he certainly would have way more chances to score.

Looks like Benjamin de Ceulaer will opt for NAC Breda. They're discussing contract terms right now and the only problem left is that De Ceulaer wants a minimum fee release clause entered.

He opted for Nac over Feyenoord and Genk, probably because he wants to have certainty of getting good playing time. I think this should be a good move for him and he can move to Feyenoord or another bigger club in one or two years time then.

Oh and now everyone in the belgian press is all over Yulu Matondo after he scored his first goal. While I already had him in my rankings by early january :p:



BTW Evilo how's Medjani looking at Lorient? I checked L'Équipe's site but all that tells me he's got 14 games this season, but I'm not sure how well he's playing in Ligue 2.

And while you're at it, how's Diarra looking in Lens. Some fractions of Liverpool fans are starting to hype him up but from what I can see he's just a hard tackling defensive midfielder, a good one but not exactly better than Hamann is right now.

Haven's seen much of Lorient this season, so I can't say about Medjani.
However, I can tell you that Diarra has been pretty good, and probably one the best players for Lens. He definately has some high potential. He could be another Essien in my mind.

Diego Tardelli has been amazing this year. He's scoring a lot of goals, he is São Paulo penalty kicker taker, way more focused in the game. Tardelli is giving Leão (São Paulo's coach) a hard time to find a spot for Luizão (2002 World Champs, comming back from an injury) on the team. Leão, one of the best coaches in the world when it comes to developing young players (Robinho, Diego, Elano, Renato, Paulo Almeida, Alex and others), is helping him a lot. I don't think that Tardelli is ready for the big leagues in Europe right now, but if he continues to develop like he is doing he will be a star soon.

I watched Barcelona for the first time yesterday (I only get Bundesliga, EPL and Seria A with PREMIERE) and was pretty impressed by Maxi Lopez.

Essien is wanted by Juventus.
And several big teams sent scouts to Troyes, to take a look at Sebastien Grax (on loan from Monaco). Including some italian, EPL and big french teams.

Well, well, well...
Lyon is know for his young stars (Ben Arfa, Essien, Benzema, Bergougnoux, Diarra, etc...), but Monaco sure has some young firepower. Adebayor is one, Grax is another (if he's not bought by OM or Lazio) and another emerging one is Gigliotti. I told you he was scoring like crazy in the lower levels (with Monaco B) and got his first pro games a few weeks ago. Well tonight, he scored a highlight reel on a cross by Saviola. A bicycle kick from 15 meters out no less. Way to score your first pro goal ever.

On another note, Keseru, Nantes' young superstar has scored again tonight.

Helicecopter, any news or insight on Jonathan Begora, a 16 year old frenchman from Inter? I heard great things about him...
Same with Loic Lumbilla and Guillaume Valmy (Inter as well).

BTW, Nilmar, Clément, Bergougnoux and Ben Harfa will all start for Lyon in the Coupe de France against Clermont Foot.

Mike Hanke(21) of Schalke 04 is in a good form right now.
He scored sunday in the Bundesliga and twice today in the German Cup quaterfinals where he started in stead of Ailton.

Also Tim Hoogland(19) of Schalke is a very promising looking defender, very solid defensively and he does also play very nice passes once he has the ball. He looked much better than Mertesacker today.

One of the biggest competition for young players this year is the World Youth Championship in Holland in late June. Today was the draw, here are the groups:

Group A (Kerkrade):
Holland
Japan
Benin
Australia

Group B (Utrecht):
Turkey
China
Ukraine
Panama

Group C (Doetinchem):
Spain
Morocco
Honduras
Chile

Group D (Enschede):
Argentina
United States
Germany
Egypt

Group E (Tilburg):
Colombia
Italy
Syria
Canada

Group F (Emmen):
Brazil
Nigeria
Korea Republic
Switzerland

Some serious prospects should be playing there. I hope to be able to watch Colombia with their new young star, Hugo 'Rodagoal' Rodallega.

Depending on the schedule, the time on my hands and locations of the respective teams I might pop over the border to watch a game or two. I'm especially interested in Argentina, Brazil and co, hopefully those matches arenear enough to me and not sold out.

A couple of things about the main French prospects in Italy.

I've recently heard that Meghni had some problems with his wisdom tooth that were supposedly somehow related with some of his recent leg muscular troubles. :shakehead
A little surgery and two more weeks were mentioned as probably required.

I think i forgot to report it before and i didn't see it on these boards either, so even if most of you already know this, Mexes was finally banned by UEFA until 4th of April because of his ruled illegal transfer from Auxerre.


And Evilo, i will try to answer to your recent question later this week.

Depending on the schedule, the time on my hands and locations of the respective teams I might pop over the border to watch a game or two. I'm especially interested in Argentina, Brazil and co, hopefully those matches arenear enough to me and not sold out.Hey, would be nice to read live reports by you!
But is this the U20 WJC or what?

But is this the U20 WJC or what?

Yep, I believe so. But Argentina's key player for instance is the 17-year-old Lionel Messi who's supposed to be the next "next Maradona". ;)

Looking forward to some scouting reports on him!

Yep, I believe so. But Argentina's key player for instance is the 17-year-old Lionel Messi who's supposed to be the next "next Maradona". ;)

Looking forward to some scouting reports on him!

Messi is playing for Barcelona and you are right, he is highly regarded. He was a bit disappointing at the U20 South American qualifiers last month in Colombia. Both Argentina and Brasil underperformed to be honest and I wouldn't be surprised if the rosters were changed a lot before the world cup.

1. FC Cologne won 3:1 today in front of 31.000 against Saarbrücken.
Podolski with two goals, he scored one with his right, the other with his left foot.
He's still leading the 2. Bundesliga with 18 goals in 20 games.

Cologne pretty much a safe bet now for promotion with 7 points more than the 4th place and still one game in hand which means Podolski will stay.

soccer is wack

soccer is wack


You is wack too.

1. FC Cologne won 3:1 today in front of 31.000 against Saarbrücken.
Podolski with two goals, he scored one with his right, the other with his left foot.
He's still leading the 2. Bundesliga with 18 goals in 20 games.
.I don't remember his face..it's the nice one on your avatar? Don't think so, but not sure.. (who is?)

Komany loves OM :
http://img150.exs.cx/img150/5485/vkav33cl.jpg
:shakehead

Also Tim Hoogland(19) of Schalke is a very promising looking defender, very solid defensively and he does also play very nice passes once he has the ball. He looked much better than Mertesacker today.

Sounds Dutch..

Quincey made his starting debute for the Gunners last week. He was impressive, showing his rediculous skillset while drawing some attention. He had two shots but was later substituted for another dutchy, Robin van Persie.

Komany loves OM :
http://img150.exs.cx/img150/5485/vkav33cl.jpg
:shakehead

I wouldn't worry he's probably out of their reach already. It would be different if he'd been a Standard player but Vincent is probably heading for a really big club, a level up from Marseille.

Yep, let's hope...
But that won't stop OM fans from being proud.
Is Kompany that dumb or what? :D

Leverkusen will use its option to get Tranquillo Barnetta back from Hannover after only one season (it was a loan for two seasons, with this option for a sooner return).

I don't remember his face..it's the nice one on your avatar? Don't think so, but not sure.. (who is?)

No, the one on my avatar is the only quality player my godawful local hockey team has on it's roster: Andreas Morcinietz. ;)

Btw, there's a site where you can see all goals scored by Cologne this season, Podolski scored 3 goals vs. Oberhausen link (http://www.forumspack.de/fcvideos.html) for example, the 2:2 vs. Essen is also a good one.
The 2nd goals he scored yesterday was a beauty, I hope they'll put it on the site too soon.

Strizzi, I just read that too and I don't understand it. Their midfield is too full already, 96 could have used him for sure. I hope for hm that he gets some playing time next season, he would have gotten lots of minutes with 96 for sure.
Bummer, that one.

Strizzi, I just read that too and I don't understand it. Their midfield is too full already, 96 could have used him for sure. I hope for hm that he gets some playing time next season, he would have gotten lots of minutes with 96 for sure.
Bummer, that one.Yep, I'm a bit worried about that too. He needs playing time after his injury. But he's got the potential to earn a playing spot even in a good Bundesliga team.

there is this 16 years old boy called Andreson, this guy is just incredible since he got back from the u17 southamerican nat'l championship (where some euro scouts really liked him) he has played 2 games and scored 2 goals for Grêmio (same place where Ronaldinho started). He came out of nowhere and really impessed me with his talent. He is an OM with tons of ability and a great (ROCKET) shot, dude this guy maybe the next soccer superstar. If i had to compare him to someone who is playing now it would be a mixture of Zidane and Ronaldinho with Lampard's shot. I know I've only seen 2 games (1 and 1/2 actually) but what I saw really impressed me. :yo:

there is this 16 years old boy called Andreson, this guy is just incredibleIt's really Andreson or Anderson? (typo?)

Leverkusen will use its option to get Tranquillo Barnetta back from Hannover after only one season (it was a loan for two seasons, with this option for a sooner return).How can you name your son 'Tranquillo'?? :shakehead

Maybe he was a weird baby and didn't scream when he was born!?

Btw, the Podolski's goals vs. Saarbrücken have been uploaded (http://www.forumspack.de/fcvideos2.html) as well. The 3:0 was quite nice actually.

It's really Andreson or Anderson? (typo?)
Anderson :D Anderson's profile (http://www.gremio.net/site/portal/detalhe_menu.asp?campo=197)

Anderson :D Anderson's profile (http://www.gremio.net/site/portal/detalhe_menu.asp?campo=197)

There is a big argument between Gremio and the CBF (Brasilian federation) as Anderson has been selected to play for a Under 17 tournament later this spring and by doing so he would be away from Gremio for over a month. Gremio has been relagated last season and are desperate to get their full line up in order to mount a good challenge for promotion this year.
Anderson played the last two games for Gremio, againt Bahia in Copa do Brasil and in the Gaucho championship and both time he was man of the match. That earnt him a huge wage increase.

How can you name your son 'Tranquillo'?? :shakeheadDon't know, but at least one of his parents is of Italian origin as far as I know, so they must have known what it means...

Here goes my list:
Helice says me put a number to order the players but i don't want to make it, i'm unable to ordenate them :dunno: (They're not in order)
And i'm so high in some players and not in others although upsides of ones can be better than others because a lot of teams don't believe in his prospects and other yes (especially Espanyol, Sevilla and Atl. Bilbao):

Andres Iniesta -OM/RW,Spain,Barça,11/5/84- Top end talent, superb passing and vision habilities especially to find holes between the defenders, good shot and dribbling. His natural position is behind the strikers creating the team offensive play, he is the brain of spanish sub-21 team, but in barça Ronaldinho occupies that place and he plays as RW where he shows IMO his only weakness: the lack of top speed to pass the defenders.

Fernando Torres -F,Spain,Atl. Madrid,20/3/84- First of all i want to say that i'm not a great fan of him and i think he is vastly overrated (especially by the spanish press). He is a good forward with above average skills (shoot, dribbling), good physically (speed, body, header) but lacks the killing instict of the greatest strikers. None the less, he is the franchise player for one of the historical teams in Spain and the starter forward of the national team since his 19.

Sergio Ramos -RB,Spain,Sevilla,30/3/86 - Excellent right back with great speed. Playing in a defensive team like Sevilla means his defensive play is so good for a player of his age, but he contributes offensively as well. Next national team right back substituing Michel Salgado sooner than later.

Albert Zapater -OM,Spain,Zaragoza,13/6/85- Plays in the midfield (primary as an OM), a very creative and skilled player, was the surprise of the zaragoza in the preseason making the pro team out of the junior team.

Hector Font -RW,Spain,Villareal,15/6/84- Plays as RW, playing in a defensive team as villareal his play is at times limited by this. But he has a good shot combined with above average speed and contributes with some goals coming from behind.

Redondo -RW,Spain,Albacete(loaned by Valencia),17/4/82- Plays in albacete loaned by Valencia to gain experience, he is a RW with good speed and average skills but never stops fighting, he is a grinder.

Diego Capel -F/W,Spain,Sevilla,16/2/88- The gem of sevilla, i only see him in a couple of games and is a very fast and skilled player that truths in himself, so is always trying to make things happen. The future is in his hands, right now depends most of his head that in his football skills.

Jesus Navas -LW,Spain,Sevilla,21/11/85- Plays as LW in sevilla, a defensive team where a player can never forget the defensive part of the game (thing that IMO is always good in the development of a player). None the less, he is a fast, skilled player (good dribbling to pass through defenders) with a great shot that contributes with a good amount of goals every season.

Daniel Alves -RW,Portugal,Sevilla,6/5/83- Plays as RW, all that i said to sevilla players can be apply to him. Like Navas, is a fast player, with less skills but better defensively and fighthing more.

Andoni Iraola -RB,Spain,Atl. Bilbao,22/6/82- Is a versatile player, can play as RB or RW or CB. Is a very fast player with good dribbling, playing in a all attack team.

Ander Murillo -CB,Spain, Atl. Bilbao,22/7/83- Has played in every defensive position, LB, CB or RB but in the national team plays as CB. He is a good header and positionally sound. Playing in a all attack team (fact that helps development of offensive players but i think doesn't as for defensive ones) can probably seem that the defense of Athletic (formed all by young players, Del Horno, Gurpegui, Iraola, he ...) is bad, but this is false, they are a very good group of young defenders demostrating it in the national team.

Fernando Llorente -F,Spain,Atl. Bilbao,26/2/85- Old time striker, very big (1'93) not slow but with limited skills. Having the athletic another forward with the same caracteristics (Urzaiz) can help his development a lot.

Arizmendi -F,Spain,Atl. Bilbao,3/3/84- Very fast striker with good definition. Scored in every level but the presence of Torres probably is hurting his development because the athletic only plays with one pure striker.

Kameni -G,Camerun,Espanyol,18/2/84- Has astonishing reflexes and stops a lot of penalties. For his age has a lot of experience. Like a lot of young goalies lacks the authority in the flying balls and the centres to transmit security to his defense, but this will problably come with the experience. At times allows soft goals (especially at the start of the season).

Moya -G,Spain,Mallorca,2/4/84- Great goalie, starter for Spain in all the categories (except the absolut) has a lot of hability and reflexes between the pipes but going out the net fails at times. The soft goal that allows at the Camp Nou was very odd, he usually doesn't make mistakes (after i make this line he make another horrible mistake against real sociedad but is a good goalie).

Thiago Motta -DM,Brasil,Barça,28/8/82- Versatile player (in barça played in all the midfiled positions and as LB), but his natural position is DM where he adds grit to a delicatessen team like Barça. Has a cannon in his left leg, scoring long shots whit regularity.

Juanfran -RW,Spain,Real Madrid,9/1/85- old time winger that has a lot of dribbling, the defender never knows what he will make to beat him. Plays primarly as RW. But playing in madrid having Figo ahead and probably Joaquin will make him triumph on another team, because he is so good.

Javier Garrido -LB,Spain,Real Sociedad,15/3/85- LB international for the under-21 (that has probably the best pair of fullbacks, he and S. Ramos), is a very good back that has an average defensive game but a well developed for his age offensive game, helping a lot his LW.

Mikel Arteta -OM,Spain,Real Sociedad,26/3/82- has returned to spain from Rangers to play in one of the worst teams of Liga. Plays as OM with good passing abilities and incredible experience for a player of his age, giving him the chance to handle the game, but in Real Sociedad, a struggling team, he is usually chasing other teams’ midfielders, making impossible for him to use his game.

Mark Gonzalez -LW,Chile,Albacete,17/7/84- He is one of the fastest players of Liga, skill that he uses to pass the defender on the LW, that is his natural position.

Sergio Garcia -F,Spain,Levante (loaned by Barça),9/6/83- Plays for Levante, loaned by barça. Fast player, good striker and especially good in the 1vs1.

Other names to keep an eye:
Webo -RW,Camerun,Osasuna,20/1/82- plays in Osasuna, very fast and scores a lot of goals playing like winger, in both sides.

V. Valdes (G,Spain, Barça,14/1/82) and Asier Riego (G,Spain,Real Sociedad,6/10/83) - two starters in his respective teams but in the case of Valdes, i think overrated, the previous barça goalie prospect (Reina) was a lot better. And Asier plays for a bad team but his game is improving, his primary ability are the flying balls.
Lionel Messi -W,Argentina,Barça,24/6/87- Great young winger, with a lot of skill but phisically isn't developed, in a couple of years can be a force (and for what i see can play in both sides)
Damia -RB,Spain,Barça,15/4/82- Good player very strong phisically but needs to improve his offensive game


Players that friends and me heard names of, but never see them play enough to make an opinion:

Javier Casa Cuevas (LB athletic bilbao)
Igor Angulo (LW athletic)
Arizt Solabarrieta (LW/F athletic bilbao)
Jarque (CB espanyol)
Albiol (M Getafe)
Ramis (CB/B mallorca)
Corrales (LB osasuna)
Sissoko (M valencia) (i see him play but i think he is only a body, can develope but i'm not high on him)

There's a seperate thread for the lists.

BTW Strizzi, I thought Senderos was the best player on the field today, he's a jewel!

Galiza, what about Jose Manuel Jurado Marin of Real Madrid? I was very impressed by him in the U17 World Championships as he linked brilliantly with Fabregas in central midfield and was one of the standout players of the tournament. Just wondering how he's doing.

BTW Strizzi, I thought Senderos was the best player on the field today, he's a jewel!Thanks for the info, I didn't see the match. It's nice to hear he's picked up his development after missing a lot of time due to injuries. For him, it's certainly a good thing that Arsenal has no defensive depth; he desparately needed the playing time he's getting now.

No Piqué in the spanish list????

Piqué i prefer to let him out because i never saw him play except if i remember a sub-18 game, in spain is almost imposible see him play. For the comments i heard is very good but i prefer let him for the english list because the english poster will see more of he than me.
And for Jurado, yeah he is very good but i don't think (like Juanfran) that he will ever play in madrid, like some other great prospects that need to emigrate to play (starting from Morientes ...)
As i said in madrid propects i don't belive because i'm not sure if they will ever had a pro-football career (so bad that the only prospects to have oportunities are crap defenders as Pavon, R. Bravo, Mejia ...) because for attack Florentino will prefer always the shirt sellers

Piqué i prefer to let him out because i never saw him play except if i remember a sub-18 game, in spain is almost imposible see him play. For the comments i heard is very good but i prefer let him for the english list because the english poster will see more of he than me.
And for Jurado, yeah he is very good but i don't think (like Juanfran) that he will ever play in madrid, like some other great prospects that need to emigrate to play (starting from Morientes ...)
As i said in madrid propects i don't belive because i'm not sure if they will ever had a pro-football career (so bad that the only prospects to have oportunities are crap defenders as Pavon, R. Bravo, Mejia ...) because for attack Florentino will prefer always the shirt sellersIt's not that you have to play for Real to have a pro-career..

you should then add Piqué to the group of the only-heard-about players.

Here goes my list:
Helice says me put a number to order the players but i don't want to make it, i'm unable to ordenate them :dunno: (They're not in order) :dunno:

It's not that we will come to you with guns if time will prove wrong the positions you chose.. and no one could have certanties while doing his list.
You just have to take your risks like the other posters did; it's the only way one reader can have an idea (be it right or wrong) of the current feelings of a Spanish fan about the growing talents there.

The way to procede it's just: 'basing on your current feelings and knowledge (thatcould be shaped off heard things too) who would you draft first out of these (left) players if you could then use them for the rest of their careers?'

No one pretend that order would really be the eventual right one, still it would be closer than a random one (like it is to have no order, like in your list!)

C'mon, you were satisfied with Real out no? At least give me the ranking! :naughty:

P.S.: convert into ranking your Spanish list in the lists' thread!

OK, i will make the ranking friday night (because today is a drinking night :cheers: ) but only because the madrid loose :gman:

It's not that you have to play for Real to have a pro-career..

you should then add Piqué to the group of the only-heard-about players.
Yes, but a lot of players with great potential lose a lot of oportunities because until theirs 25+ years they were not allowed to leave madrid to probe theirselves in other teams although in madrid they did not play, and in terms of development this years are problably the most important (from 18-25, to gain confidence, experience ...)

Anderson :D Anderson's profile (http://www.gremio.net/site/portal/detalhe_menu.asp?campo=197)Thanks.

looking at that face..it reminds me of someone else but i can't recall who in my mind..any advices?

Speaking of Brazilians, the hot name at the moment in Italian serie B is:
Paulo Vitor Barreto F, 1’70(5'07"), 59kgs, 12-07-85.
A previously unknown member of Treviso (by three years now..so i guess he is completely unknown in Brazil too), Barreto has started making a name for himself this season, scoring his first ever professional goal and soon adding more (8 overall)..
This shrimp is really quick, looks starved for goals and so far seems to be a good finisher. Along his fellow Reginaldo (31/7/83) he is dragging his team to an impressive rally that could even lead to a completely unexpected promotion to serie A.
Worth to keep an eye on it seems.

OK, i will make the ranking friday night (because today is a drinking night :cheers: )..Friday of which week?? :dunce:

Friday of which week?? :dunce:
uuuuuuuuuuuuu i make it last friday ..... in the thread you said, in the rankings by league thread soooooooooooo :p:

uuuuuuuuuuuuu i make it last friday ..... in the thread you said, in the rankings by league thread soooooooooooo :p:Oh my god. IT'S THERE!! We finally have a Spanish a ranking!
I don't know why but in the back of my mind there was the dumb idea that whenever edited the lists' thread would have been bumped up on the top of the board like if it was a new post... :blush:

sorry Galiza :o

Oh my god. IT'S THERE!! We finally have a Spanish a ranking!
I don't know why but in the back of my mind there was the dumb idea that whenever edited the lists' thread would have been bumped up on the top of the board like if it was a new post... :blush:

sorry Galiza :o
I will forgive you when answer the PM i sent :)

I will forgive you when answer the PM i sent :)Done but..are you refusing the agreement?? :)

Speaking of your list i am surprised to find Juan Fran and Capel behind Iraola and to see Messi out of the top 21!


Also,

where is (and how good is) now that Reina you mentioned while speaking of Valdes?

Never heard of midfielder Javi Fuego of Gijon?

Blues Chasing Kompany (http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=263384&cpid=8&CLID=&lid=2&title=Blues+leading+Kompany+chase&channel=Football_Home)

No big surprise, they're linked with everyone. But the president of Anderlecht did confirm there was contact between both clubs. It looks like Anderlecht will try to hang on to him one year extra and then cash in.


On another positive note, Anthony vanden Borre has resurfaced after some personal problems, injury problems and a severe loss of form. Still only 17 he's returned to Anderlecht's starting lineup after a long abscence due to an injury to the regular right back Michal Zewlakow.

And national coach Aimé Antheunis is considering taking Kevin Vandenbergh, Faris Haroun (both Genk) and Karel Geraerts in his national squad! Too bad he still chooses to ignore Hans Cornelis.

a link about England interest of prospect Valon Behrami:
http://www.goal.com/NewsDetail.aspx?idNews=52109&idSez=12

For those who can read Italian, here is the link for a larger interview:
http://www.goal.com/NewsDetail.aspx?idNews=52003&progr=0

What a goal by low spoken #9 Pazzini!! :yo:

Helicecopter, any news or insight on Jonathan Begora, a 16 year old frenchman from Inter? I heard great things about him...
Same with Loic Lumbilla and Guillaume Valmy (Inter as well).It would be interesting to know which great things they said to you, at the moment these guys have yet to make a name for themselves around here, so it’s difficult to add to what you seem to know (that we don’t yet :help: ).

Anyway, here is what I know at the moment:

Lumbilla (from F.C.Paris) and Begora (from Blanc Mensil) were acquired this past Summer together with midfielder Belaid (from F.C Paris too). Valmy arrived before.

The guys are currently playing for the Inter juvenile teams of their age category.
Lumbilla and Belaid with Juniores(‘87 born), Begora with National Cadets(‘88), while Valmy (12/3/1987) has been switching between Primavera(85/86) and Juniores (for the most with Primavera, but without playing. The diminutive fullback has 3 goals with the Juniores team).

Being forward, it seems Lumbilla (12/4/1987) is struggling to find much room on a team that features #81 Germinale (7 goals this season so far) and #73 Momenté (13 goals but with 5 penalties) as its main weapons and has recorder so far 4 goals. Lately though, Momenté and Germinale are joining more frequently Primavera (#63 Meggiorini in January left for Spezia, serieC ), freeing some space..

Belaid (6/9/87) seems to be a guy worth attention, as a midfielder he has recorded 7 goals (several winners.)

Begora (28/4/1988) is supposed to be a centre forward with a good left foot. He has scored only 5 goals so far, but it’s enough to lead his team as it has been a low scoring one this season.. He was not on board for 4 months in a row (during that period, from November through February, his second placed team scored even less, only 8 in 9 games), so maybe he was out with injury (could not verify).


Overall, I would say there is any evidence yet of extraordinary things here. As you can see, these guys are not playing as underagers in higher categories and were not there with the team for the Viareggio tourney. But aside from Viareggio, they use to let the guys play in their categories no matter of their performances. And moreover, it’s way too early to say much on these guys, as the attention starts to grow around players no earlier than when they reach the Primavera squads.

Going out on a brittle, brittle limb, just to give you an idea of my current (basically unreasoned) feelings, at the moment I would pick them in this order:

Begora
Belaid
.
.
Lumbilla
Valmy.

Thanks.
I read on a youth forum that these guys had good potential, but the guy didn't give much info, so I thought I'd ask you.